Padilla v. Kentucky

Padilla v. Commonwealth of Kentucky
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued October 13, 2009 Decided March 31, 2010
Full case name	Jose Padilla, Petitioner v. Commonwealth of Kentucky
Docket nos.	08-651
Citations	559 U.S. 356 (more) 130 S. Ct. 1473; 176 L. Ed. 2d 284; 2010 U.S. LEXIS 2928; 78 U.S.L.W. 4235; 22 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 211
Prior history	State circuit court denied motion for post-conviction relief; state appeals court reversed; Kentucky Supreme Court reversed, affirming the trial court's denial of Padilla's motion, 253 S.W.3d 482 (Ky. 2008).
Subsequent history	Remanded to Kentucky courts
Holding
The lawyer for an alien, charged with a crime, has a constitutional obligation to tell the client if a guilty plea carries a risk that he will be deported.
Court membership
Case opinions
Majority	Stevens, joined by Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor
Concurrence	Alito, joined by Roberts
Dissent	Scalia, joined by Thomas
Laws applied
U.S. Const, Amend. VI

Padilla v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010), is a case in which the United States Supreme Court decided that criminal defense attorneys must advise noncitizen clients about the deportation risks of a guilty plea. The case extended the Supreme Court's prior decisions on criminal defendants' Sixth Amendment right to counsel to immigration consequences.

The duties of Counsel recognized in Padilla are broad. After Padilla, if the law is unambiguous, attorneys must advise their criminal clients that deportation will result from a conviction. Also, if the immigration consequences of a conviction are unclear or uncertain, attorneys must advise that deportation "may" result. Finally, attorneys must give their clients some advice about deportation: counsel cannot remain silent about immigration.

After Padilla, there has been significant litigation in the lower courts about whether attorneys are required to advise their criminal clients about other consequences of convictions.

José Padilla was born in Honduras in 1950. He later emigrated to the United States and became a lawful permanent resident. Padilla served in the US military during the Vietnam War and received an honorable discharge. As of 2010, Padilla had been a lawful resident in the United States for more than 40 years.

In 2001, Padilla was working as a commercial truck driver when he was arrested in Kentucky for transporting marijuana. His defense attorney told him that he "did not have to worry" about the conviction affecting his immigration status, so he pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea bargain. However, this advice was incorrect, as Padilla's deportation was virtually automatic. In 2004, Padilla filed a pro se motion for post-conviction relief, alleging that he had been given bad advice by his attorney.